Normally, I don’t get really hyped up about drugstore brands because they don’t meet my high beauty standards. But I guess it’s true that there’s a first for everything because I’ve got a new drugstore obsession: Soap And Glory. The pink vintage packaging caught my eye at Target a few weeks ago, and I’ve been in love ever since.

No joke, I want to climb out my window and scream it from the rooftops!

While I only have a few products (they’re always sold out!), I wanted to share my initial thoughts and praise with you. This brand is incredible not only in quality but also in price. I honestly have no idea how they do it, but Soap and Glory’s products are already some of my favorites. Read More »

We all know the benefits of using a facial scrub: it sloughs off dead skin cells letting your beautiful fresh face show through; and also gets really deep into your pores to get rid of oil, makeup and other gross build-up. I love all the good that a facial scrub can do, but I’m tired of rubbing my face with a sandy, painful scrub!

I have been looking high and low for a facial scrub that doesn’t feel like i just rubbed sandpaper all over my face. And I finally found it.

This is another Mario Badescu product (what can I say? Mario knows what he’s doing!) that works, smells great, and is affordable! Now we can all get the perfect skin without feeling like we’re scratching off our faces in the process.

Let’s talk about skin care. Go into any beauty retailer, find a sales person and ask them to recommend a skin care regimen. Then duck, because you are about to get hit with an avalanche of products your skin “needs.” They’re going to try to sell you a makeup remover, a cleanser, a scrub, a toner, a serum, a moisturizer, a spot treatment, an eye cream and a sunscreen. A really ambitious sales person will try to sell you two of each, a different one for day and night.

Now in a perfect world an elaborate skin care regimen can be very good for your skin, but let’s get real. When you’re coming back to the dorm at 4am and crashing, your makeup smearing off on the pillow is the closet thing you get to skin care.

It is a good idea to have a solid skin care system, especially if you have an issue like acne or dry patches that need treatment. But with so many steps, it’s all or nothing and you need a back up plan that you’ll actually use and that actually works!

So when time is tight or you are feeling lazy there are three very important steps to hit.

1. Remove makeup

2. Cleanse

3. Moisturize

Here are some products that can kill two (or three) birds with one stone. Read More »

So you just got in from a great night out, your aching head and tired feet are telling you to hit the sheets, but your makeup-covered face is screaming “wash me!” I know this is the last thing you want to do right now, but removing makeup is really important for your skin, and let’s not forget the risk of getting harmful mascara in your eye!

In order to keep your skin clean, glowing and moisturized it is vital to wash off your makeup. If that’s not convincing enough, makeup removal will at least keep your pillowcase clean, and who doesn’t love a clean pillow?

Below are some great products to help you keep clean.

L’oreal Eye Makeup Remover- $6.99. This remover is not greasy (like many products are) and it gets all makeup off (including waterproof liners and mascaras). It’s a drugstore brand so it’s fairly inexpensive, and, best of all, it smells like roses!

Clinique Rinse-off Eye Makeup Solvent: $16.50. This remover is not sudsy or soapy, and leaves behind no residue. Quick and easy (perfect for those late nights). This remover is a tad on the expensive side, but I think it’s worth it. While I love this Clinique remover, I’d stay away from Clinique’s Take the Day Off remover as it tends to leave skin oily and gross.

Bare Escentuals: bareEyes: $14 This remover is enriched with copper to make skin around the eyes soft. It is safe for contact users and is great for moisturizing and cleansing. Read More »

[Make-up is wonderful, but it can also be confusing. There are so many shades and colors and sheens and reasons to wear it that a girl can get completely lost attempting to find what fits her face best. What’s the best blush color for a redhead? How do you really put on lip-liner? Is there such a thing as too much eyeshadow?

In this weekly series, actress / model and fabulous CC blogger, Jen, will be using her make-up know how to teach us all how to look flawless in class, out at a party, or grabbing coffee with that cutie from Psych 101.]

This week Jen gives us the lowdown on skincare: keeping it clean, beautiful and not-so-obvious that you were up until 4am playing Quarters with the roommates writing a paper. Grab a pen and paper – you will want to take notes.

If you have a specific make-up question, leave a message in the CC Facebook group, or email Lauren@collegecandy.com with the title “CC Make-Up Question,” and she’ll make sure Jen hears your woes and addresses them.

I went from cracking jokes about Jessica Simpson’s ProActiv ads to wanting to be in my own acne treatment ad basically overnight. I never had acne problems as a teen. Even buying something as simple as face wash seemed like a foreign concept to me-after all, I had perfect skin. Of course I’d have the occasional tragic zit that would drive me up the wall — but that was as far as my derma-traumas were concerned.

Until I switched my birth control.

Once I switched my birth control my hormones went completely out of whack. A few months ago, after the switch, I started breaking out ALL OF THE TIME. I felt uncomfortable going outside without makeup on. As a singer, I didn’t want to be on stage. As a model on the side, I stopped showing up to interviews. I felt gross and about as far from pretty as a girl can possibly feel without having to be a D list Hollywood drunken starlet.

I wasn’t about to give in to a bleak marriage with acne. My skin’s future needed to be free and happy, not tied down to bullsh*t anxiety.

I finally got to that breaking point where I caved and decided I would try ProActiv-or something like it. Something like it is what I went with when I saw Acne Free at the drug store. It was right there in front of me and for much less than what I hear ProActive goes for (it was $20 for the package). I rationalized with myself for a while before the purchase.

“Elizabeth…you spent $20 at a bar on drinks in an hour. You can chance it for better skin…”

And so I did. Read More »